Mistake or Fate?
by thedonf22
Summary: Ino drags Naruto off to the greatest night of his life, but come morning, was it all a mistake, or was it fate? NaruxIno some other minor pairings throughout. My first fic.
1. Chapter 1

Hoooowdy Hooo. The Don here with my very first fic. I'm not a great writer, but I do enjoy it, as I enjoy my reading of other fics. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think.

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The sun was just beginning to set, as it cast its dying burst of color throughout the sky over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A young man walked silently through the peaceful twists and turns the worn dirt roads that lead him. His thoughts everywhere and nowhere as his feet carried him along, knowing exactly where to take their master without his conscious effort. Through the dimming village they carried him, street lamps flickering to life as the sun left its last whispers stretched across the horizon. Friendly cries trailed after the scatterbrained shinobi. From the various daywalkers making their final trips home for the night, to the nightowls just perking up for an evening on the town, everyone recognized the unmistakable ninja as he strolled. and as he walked, rounding a corner, he nearly knocked into a small group making their way in the opposite direction.

"Whoa there Naruto," Shikamaru spoke in a slightly more enthusiastic voice than his normal 'troublesome' drawl. As naruto recovered from his near fall he beamed up at his friends, the famous second generation Ino-Shika-Cho squad, "so troublesome."

"Hey guys, where are you headed this time of day? Tsunade-bachan isn't giving you guys a mission _now_ is she?" confusion riding Naruto of his previous destination.

"Of course not you knucklehead," cut in Ino before Shikamaru could even open his mouth. "We're going out on town tonight!"

"What do you mean? What's the big occasion?"

Ino and Choji both pulled Shikamaru into a one armed bear hug, "Shikamaru's getting MARRIED!" Shikamaru, thankful that the streets were nearly vacant, simply placed his fingers against his forehead, massaging the ringing from his pineapple hair.

"You two are so troublesome. I thought we were going to wait and tell everyone at once so I can get all pleasantries out of the way in one go." Shikamaru playfully pushed his two best friends off himself.

Naruto, shocked into a brief silence by the sudden news, was slowly coming to. "Wait…. Who in the world is going to marry you Shika? I mean I never see you with anyone but these two. WAIT! Don't tell me it's Ino!" _thump_ Ino stepped back from walloping Naruto over the head.

"Don't be such an idiot Naruto" Ino growled, a vein pulsing from her forehead.

"Then…. wait, don't tell me you and Choji have been going out? I mean, no offense, but you nevered seemed the type. But then again you guys have been friends even before the academy"

Again Naruto was knocked to the ground, Choji pulling back his gigantic fist from atop the blondes head. "Seriously Naruto, what the hell?"

"Well would you just tell me then, damn it!" Naruto yelled, nursing his two new lumps.

"Shikamaru is going to marry Temari, Gaara's sister, Naruto. He proposed last week, and waited until this afternoon to tell us!" Ino swooned over her own romantic thoughts of pale, dark haired boys, "so tonight we're taking Shika-kun here out for his bachelor party."

"Gaara's sister? I didn't even know you guys were going out? when did this happen?" Naruto scratched his head, still completely lost about the newly engaged.

"It's been since before the war. It was the chunin exams I was forced to help organize, just after you got back Naruto. We've been dating for nearly 5 years Naruto, I can't believe you didn't know. Didn't you just visit Gaara last month?" Shikamaru revealed.

"Well ya, but most of time we just talk about what its like being a Kage. and he helps train me for when Bachan finally decides to pass the hat off to me. And then we go out into the desert and a really good spar. I almost even hit him last time." Naruto went off with his latest excursion to the Land of Air.

"Naruto as much as we'd looove to stay and listen all about your little tussle with the Kazekage, we've got a lot of sake to drink and only one night to do it in." Ino cutting Naruto off as he was saying how big his latest rasengan was. Shikamaru gulped at the thought while Choji stiffened, his face growing slightly paler.

Just as the trio were about to turn and head towards the nearest bar, Ino reached over and grabbed Naruto by the sleeve. "Naruto, why don't you come with us? The more the merrier, and I don't want to be the only one out of us that isn't seeing anyone right now." She said dragging Naruto behind the group as they searched out their first establishment.

"But my ramen, she needs me!" Naruto cried, anime tears pouring down his face.

Shikamaru and Choji eyed the defeated orange-clad ninja with a sympathetic look. Tonight was going to be hectic, crazy night with those two blondes. A night they would never forget, and a night others would never remember.

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And that's a wrap ladies, and germs. Let me know what you think, all criticism is welcome.

Recommendation time folks!

check out one of the first fics I read, and probably most of you have as well.

Serious Sam's series My Precious People his story link s/9374119 just had another update, and boy was it worth the wait!


	2. Chapter 2

So it's been quite some time since I uploaded the first chapter of this fic. I haven't forgotten or abandoned this story, I just was not in a well enough place to regularly upload when I wrote and published that first chapter. Things should be much smoother in my life now. Finally making more than minimum wage!

Without further ado here the next installment of Mistake or Fate?

It was a quiet, peaceful morning in the village. The sun, just beginning to peak over the Hokage Mountain, cast long shadows along the streets and alleys. Shopkeepers slowly opening their businesses for the day of commerce. young ninja in training scurrying along at the encouragement of half-lidded parents struggling to shake the sleep from their minds. A particularly rambunctious group of boys went tearing down the street screaming and laughing the whole way, their voices carrying through the open window of the villages favorite number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja who began to stir at the noise and light.

The blonde jinjuriki rolled in his sleep, the commotion from the children slowly working its way through his slumber. Half consciously, Naruto rose from his bed sheets and stumbled to the bathroom of his master bedroom, intent on relieving his bladder. He swayed on his way to the doorway and bumped into it. His body rocked to the side as he stumbled to the toilet, and proceeded to empty his bladder, relief flooding his body. Naruto, finishing his business, turned to quickly rinse his hands and stopped as he gazed into his reflection.

Small circular, and crescent shaped marks lightly freckled his skin. Naruto quickly leaned closer to the mirror and brushed a finger along one of the curving marks on his neck. He ran his calloused digit over the small ridges and swollen nubs, confused as the their reason for being there. As he stood there studying the marking he could feel a bubbling laughter emanating from his stomach. He turned his thoughts inward to his ever present tenant.

Naruto found the large embodied chakra source rolling the sewer of his inner consciousness, laughing it's nine-tailed ass off. "Hey! Furball! What's so goddamn funny? And what the HELL are these marks on my neck?" Naruto demanded answers from the nine-tailed beast, the fox demon Kurama.

"What you do with your own time is none of my concern," the giant red fox spoke barely containing his joy and laughter.

Naruto growled at the fox as he turned to leave his inner mind. Just as he was returning he could feel Kurama start laughing again. Naruto looked back into the mirror as his healing abilities somehow returned right then. 'Stupid fox,' Naruto thought to himself as he turned to return to bed to, hopefully, catch another hour or so of sleep before he would rise for the day.

Naruto stopped suddenly in the doorway, a surprised look of horror on his face. There peeking out of his blankets and pillows, was a head of long bright blonde hair. His breath froze as he tired to think of what to do. The blonde jinjuriki crept silently to his bedside, his gaze never leaving the mysterious locks of hair. He had decided that whoever had decided to join him the previous night would just have to let themselves out, and hope to Kami that no one ever approached him about it. But fate seemed to have a different plan, because as soon as he returned to his sheets, his guest suddenly rolled over nuzzling into Naruto's chest, still very much asleep.

Ino's calm and serene face rested itself against Naruto's shoulder as her hand stopped on his chest. Naruto froze as Ino's body draped a single leg over his own, not daring to do more than stare at his childhood friend. Her eyes suddenly flickered to life as she started feeling Naruto's chest in her hand. Ino opened her eyes and gazed at the chiseled pectorals that her hand lay upon, and slowly her face turned to stare into Naruto's incredibly nervous smile. "Hey Ino-chan. How's it going?" he chuckled awkwardly.

Sharp pain filled Naruto's vision as a small fist connected very solidly to his unsuspecting face, and was thrown from the bed. "What in the fucking hell are you doing in my bed Naruto? And why are you NAKED!?" Ino yelled at the recovering ninja as he stood up, in all his bare glory. She rose quickly from the bed ready to kick some knucklehead ass. Naruto's eyes widened as a small trail of blood left his nose, when his bearings returned.

"Your bed? Think again. And why the are YOU naked?!" Naruto returned, and both blondes rushed to find some fabric to cover themselves, crimson blushes streaking across their faces. Naruto managed to find a pair of boxers and threw them on, as Ino rips the bed sheet off the mattress and draped in over her bare body.

"Ok ok," Ino takes a deep breath, "Do you remember anything?" She glances at Naruto who is sitting at the foot of the bed.

"I think the last thing i remember was that really swanky club. Umm….Shadows, is that the name of the place?" Naruto turns to face the other blonde as she waltzes over to his desk and sits on the end, being very careful of the fabric barely concealing her nakedness.

"Ya I remember that. And then Choji kept complaining about being hungry so we went to his families barbecue place. And that's the last thing I remember. Do you think we really…" Ino trails her question off, too embarrassed to think about what may or may not have happened is that very room.

"Honestly I have no clue. But does it really count if neither of us remembers?" Naruto scratches his head trying to recall the previous evenings events.

"I guess you've got a point there," Ino turns away to hide the wetness trying to build up in her eyes, 'stupid baka.'

"Well I think I'm gonna take a shower. You can go after me while I make some breakfast I guess." Naruto stands and goes to his dresser to fetch his clothes for the day.

"Like hell you're going first," Ino jumps up and runs to the bathroom, abandoning the sheet to the floor. Naruto turns to argue with the female, but his words catch in his throat as he catches the briefest peek of Ino's very toned, round ass.

'Was that a bite mark on her ass?' Naruto thinks to himself, his body unfreezing from the sudden glimpse.

Steam had long since filled the spacious yet simple washroom. A thin layer of condensation covered everything from the mirror hanging above the vanity to the small cabinet about the toilet. Ino had taken her time in the hot water, hoping, wishing, praying that she could remember what she'd done the night previous. 'I need to find Shika and Cho' the blonde thought to herself.

The Yamanaka heir stood in the steady stream until the water lost its heat and comfort. she regrettably reached for one of the towels hanging decoratively near the shower, still feeling dirty, tainted even. Ino began drying herself off, fighting the urge to just collapse and break down crying there in the bathroom. She desperately longed for the warm embrace of her bed, to feel safe from the world. It was then that Ino realized she hadn't left any hot water for Naruto, as she wrapped herself in the large towel and mentally prepared herself to face her fellow blonde.

Ino backed out of the bathroom, her head hung low in shame as she turned, "I'm so sorry Naruto, but…"stopping suddenly. The empty bedroom sat in silence, Naruto was nowhere to be found. But there, neatly folded on a freshly made bed, were her clothes from the night before, and beside them was an unfamiliar pile of cloth. Eyeing the mysterious articles, Ino walked over and sat next to them. Gently, she lifted what appeared to be a pair of sweatpants, and a soft t-shirt, both were black with a couple orange stripes running down the sides. She slowly pulled the garments to her face, and inhaled deeply, taking the scent that pervaded the clothes in her arms. A warm tingling filled her body as she sat at the foot of Naruto's bed. 'They smell just like him… Wait, why am I sniffing his clothes?' Ino realized in horror as she threw the clothes back on the bed. 'And why did they smell so damn good!?'

It wasn't long before Ino was dressed in the lounge clothes Naruto had provided. As she approached the door to leave the bedroom, she paused, her hand floating above the handle, panic quickly filling her body. 'What am I going to say to him?' the platinum haired beauty thought to herself. 'Do I try and pretend this never happened? Or is there something here?' Ino struggled to sort her thoughts and emotions about her fellow blonde. 'No, that's impossible! He's a goddamned HERO, I bet he brings loads of girls home all the time. I'm just going to put all this behind me, and maybe someday we can laugh about it all.'

With her resolve set, Ino opened the bedroom door and quietly stepped out. The small hallway to Naruto's bedroom was just long enough to hide Ino's exit from any eyes in the living room, for which she was thankful, but it also hid whatever commotion was going on out there from Ino's vision. She crept down the hall as quietly as her lithe body would carry her, and poked her head around the corner into the living area. She was entirely unprepared for the dozen or so Naruto's running around the apartment. Some were carrying trash bags, others had rags and were wiping down everything in sight, still more were hefting food from the kitchen to the small table in the connected dining caught Ino's attention the most because among the smorgasbord of food on the table, there was not a single bowl of ramen. Eggs and bacon sat beside a sturdy pile of pancakes, biscuits and gravy were next to three huge fluffy looking waffles. There was even some fresh fruit stacked neatly in a glass bowl, 'I didn't think Naruto even knew kiwis existed' she stared in shock at the table as she finally stepped fully out into the living room.

Ino was shocked out of here daze when one of the Naruto's came up to her with a wide toothy grin. "Hey Ino-chan, the Boss is out right now, but eh should be back in a few minutes. He said to help yourself, and that we are to be at your full disclosure until he returns." With that the clone bowed and went back to cleaning the large entertainment center in the living room. Ino simply stared at the now vacant spot the clone had been standing, trying to digest all that was going on in the small apartment. As she slowly found her body able to move again, she went over to the heavily loaded table and pulled a small amount of the fruit into a smaller bowl and started to nibble one of the strawberries, still perplexed at what Naruto had done while she was in the shower.

Ino was so lost in her thoughts she nearly missed the sound of keys being pressed into the front door. A mop of golden yellow hair and familiar goofy grin appeared from the now open entrance as Naruto peeked into his own home. "Hey Ino-chan. I'm glad to see you're finally out of the shower." Naruto greeted his fellow blonde as he entered his home. Ino shyly looked at her half empty bowl unable to meet her hosts eyes. She managed a weak hello back as he sat down beside her and pulled the bag he had with him onto his lap. "Here you go Ino," as he pushed some familiar fabric into her hands, "I managed to sneak into your house and grab some clothes, so you don't have to wear my sweats all day."

"You what?! You rummaged through my bedroom, through my dressers, my home! Without my permission!" Ino pushed her short sleeves up in preparation to wallop Naruto.

"What? NO, no, no! These were just laying on your bed. Honest, I didn't dig through any of your stuff" Naruto backed up and threw his hands up in surrender. Madara be damned, there was nothing scarier than an irked female in your home. Ino glared at the jinjuriki as if trying to decide if his words were truthful.

"Fine, fine. I guess I believe you. I'm still upset you snuck into my house, but thanks for the clothes" Ino's gaze softened as she took her clothes from Naruto's arms, his toothy grin returning as he put a hand behind his head in embarrassment. Ino rushed off back to the bedroom to change into the clothes Naruto had rescued for her.

As she stood in his bedroom Ino's thoughts returned to her memories of the night before with Naruto, or more specifically, the lack of said memories. She contemplated having a fellow Yamanaka having a look-see to find the lost memories, but she quickly trashed the idea. As gifted at the art of extracting information from others, the Yamanaka's were also just as awful at keeping those secrets within their own minds. Ino knew her family almost single handedly ran the Leaf's Villages entire rumor mill. If it wasn't classified information, tales and rumors quickly filled the streets and coffee shops, the hairdressers and water coolers. It was actually quite amazing that secrets still even existed with the scary efficiency that grapevine of gossip operated at. Ino knew if she let anyone rummage around in her memories, her mother would know within the hour, and be knocking on a certain jinjuriki's door looking for blood.

Ino shook the vision of her mother chasing the blonde ninja around the village out of her mind with a soft smile set on her lips. She quickly removed the borrowed garments in favor of her own, throwing the sweats onto the bed. She dressed and followed the black and orange clothes, sitting on the bed, her frustrations returning. 'How am I supposed to tell Naruto to just forget about this whole thing?' she thought to herself. Her fingers were running through her platinum hair, eyes glued to the floor, when the door creaked open. Steely blue eyes met deep bright sapphire ones as the two blondes' gazes met.

"Hey Ino-chan, just checking on ya. The food's getting cold" Naruto said in a soft voice that surprised Ino. This was the villages, no the entire world's number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja, the bright orange ball of energy didn't have a quiet setting. Or so Ino thought as Naruto walked over to the bed. "What's up Ino? What's on your mind?"

"Naruto, I'm sorry, but this is all just a big mistake. This isn't what I wanted. I just want to wake up and all this be a dream, some terrible nightmare" Ino had tears in her eyes begging to be released as she unloaded on the Kage in training. She had fallen into Naruto's chest when he sat next to her. He draped an arm over the girl and let her tears fall.

"Don't worry about Ino. Nothing's going to change. We're going to go out there today and leave all this behind us." Naruto consoled the woman currently weeping softly into his chest. He'd never been able to hold up well against the sad tears of a comrade.

Ino finally looked up at her host, "I'm sorry again Naruto, I didn't want to break down like that. But I think that's going to be best, that we just forget about what happened last night." Her puffy red eyes meeting Naruto's deep blue windows to his soul. He averted his gaze to glance out the window at the light pouring in from the village, bright and busy.

"Really Ino, it's fine. I agree, now let's get going before Ba-chan starts imagining terrible chores for me for being late." Naruto beamed down in his signature ear to ear smile. Ino returned the grin and hopped up off the bed.

"Shit! You're right! I was supposed to meet Sakura for coffee this morning. I completely forgot. Sorry Naruto I gotta go!" Ino rushed out the door before Naruto could even blink. Her scent of lilacs and morning dew lingered for just a moment as Naruto paused.

Naruto walked out to his living room to see two of his clones pigging out on the food that was left on the table. "What the hell guys! I leave you alone for two seconds."

"Sorry Boss, it just looked too good to just let it sit there" one of the clones said, quickly swallowing his face full of bacon.

"Whatever, I need to get to the office now, so just get this stuff put away and go train or something" Naruto said very flatly as we walked out the front door. He walked from his apartment with his head hung low, thoughts drifting to the platinum blonde that had spent the night with him. 'Ino doesn't want anything to do with me,' was all he could imagine to himself as he walked down the busy streets oblivious to the calls and hails from the various villagers to their hero, 'I guess maybe it was just a mistake last night.'


	3. Chapter 3

Greetings fic fanatics The Don here bringing you another update to your favorite Naruto/Ino fic.

I do not own Naruto. But neither do you so HA!

It was turning out to be quite the amazing morning for the buxom Hokage. The morning's paperwork were minute, the entire world was enjoying the most stable time of peace it had ever experienced. Times were good to be Tsunade Senju, as she sat at her desk enjoying a nice drink of sake to start the morning. Things were quiet, almost too quiet. 'Where in the world is that troublesome brat?' thought Tsunade, carefully pouring another drink of her favorite liquor. She had begun looking forward to passing off the Hokage title, but training that knucklehead to maneuver through the delicate art of politics was proving to be quite the chore. Regardless Tsunade knew there would be no one better suited to the job once she was done with him, and without a doubt there was no one who deserved it more than that blonde idiot.

The door suddenly opened to the Hokage's office as Shizune entered preceded by the paperwork loaded in her arms. "Tsunade-sama!" She yelled at the blonde Hokage while she sipped her sake. "I thought you said you were going to cut back on the sake?"

"You know I was, but then I remembered how good sake is." Tsunade rebutted her dark haired assistant. "Besides it's not like before, I have another blonde idiot to take care of most of this stuff now. Speaking of that boy, do you have any idea where he is, I haven't seen that bundle of energy all morning."

"I think he might be a little late this morning. I was out last night getting super, and I saw Naruto with Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, they all seemed fairly drunk. I assumed they were out celebrating something, or another." Shizune remembers seeing the partying group rambling on, and generally having a great time.

"Well he better get in here soon. I don't want to actually have to do this crap myself. Now that I have him doing most of my busy work, I'm not sure I even remember how to do paperwork anymore." Tsunade joked with her first apprentice earning a tongue from the woman.

"If you keep joking like that and I'll have to laugh when he doesn't show and you have to do this all yourself." Shizune toyed with her Hokage, leaving the significant pile of paperwork on her desk.

"I'm sure he'll be here shortly, if not, I may have to go and wake him up myself." Tsunade said with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

Naruto slowly walked along the bustling village, eventually he was lifted from his thoughts as a familiar mop of brown hair ran straight into the jinjuriki. Konohamaru fell to his butt and looked up ready to start a fight with the idiot that had knocked him down, till he saw his mentor staring down at him. "Oh, hi Naruto, I didn't see you there sorry boss." said Konohamaru as he picked himself up and dusted off the dirt he'd collected from the road.

"Sorry Konohamaru, I guess I spaced out a little bit there," Naruto raised a hand behind his head in embarrassment. "I'm on my way to Hokage's office. Time for another boring ass day stuck in the office."

"Sucks to be you, boss! Moegi, Udon and I are just about to set out on a mission, got some important information for the Hidden Cloud Village." Konohamaru stuck his tongue out at Naruto at his misfortune behind the desk.

"Do that again and I'll make sure you're doing nothing but chasing the Daimyo's wife's cat for the next six months!" Naruto teased his favorite impromptu student. He laughed at Konohamaru's face when he realized that Naruto could actually follow through with that particular threat.

"Well I better get going boss, I'm already late. Moegi's gonna kill me!" shouted Konohamaru as he turned and ran off to the Villages primary gate.

Naruto waved at the chunin ninja as he ran off. He turned to resume his walk to the Hokage office, picking up his pace towards the inevitable ass chewing his knew was in store on account of his tardiness.

….

Ino arrived at the tea house slightly winded, but only just. She quickly saw the pink haired kunoichi sitting at a small table next to the street enjoying a nice cup of tea. "Hey there Forehead, sorry I'm late. This morning has been absolutely crazy." Sakura quickly looked to her best friend with a friendly glare at the old nickname. "You would not believe everything that has happened to me today."

"Oh really? Do tell. I'm so very curious as to why I've heard around that a couple of very rowdy blondes were getting very buddy buddy last night." Sakura narrowed her eyes with a mischievous smile across her face.

"Shut up. How the hell do you know about last night?" Ino sat down quickly and whispered angrily at her friend.

"I don't know what happened last night, that's just what I've heard." Sakura waved her hand around as she spoke referring to the airwaves of the village gossip. "And one piece is especially intriguing. I was hoping you could elaborate for me." Her grin was reaching from ear to ear. "So just why did I witness a certain Yamanaka jumping from an apartment window just a few minutes ago? A very particular window in fact."

Ino's eyes opened wide, catching what the lightish red head was insinuating. "WHAT!? I just left Naruto's apartment like 15 minutes ago! How did you beat me here?" the blonde whispered frantically, panicking slightly at the speed the news was spreading. "This is terrible, my life is pretty much over, just kill me now." Ino slumped in her chair, staring at the table despondently.

"Hello there ladies, is there anything that I can get for you Ino-san? How's the tea Sakura-chan?" the familiar tea server smiled at the two ladies sitting in the tea houses patio. The two ladies looked up to see their closest civilian friend, Chie, who worked at the tea house. She was a cute girl, just slightly younger than the two kunoichi who were both 21, and Chie was 19. She had short brown hair that framed her face rather well, and big brown eyes she sometimes hid behind her favorite green glasses. Her body was toned and if the two seasoned ninja didn't know better they would have agreed she looked like she was trained in the ninja arts as well. She also loved the color green, and always wore the same bright green apron when she worked at the tea shop. (**AN- yes this is Chie from the Persona 4 series, she's adorable and I don't care what you say**)

"Oh hey Chie-chan. Yeah the Oolong is really excellent today." Sakura gestured to the small pot sitting on the table.

"I would really love something relaxing Chie. You would not believe the morning I am having." Ino ground her thumbs into her temple.

"Oh I think I've got something that will really hit the spot Ino-chan. I'll be right back." Chie scampered off back into the small tea shop to prepare Ino's order.

"Ugh… I can't believe this is happening Sakura. I don't know what I'm going to do, this is a disaster." Ino pleaded with her dearest friend.

"Ino, really, it's going to be ok. It's not like you slept with the guy. That would just be weird." Sakura chuckled to herself at the thought that crossed her mind. The ridiculousness of the thought both of the village's resident loud mouthed blondes hooking up had inner Sakura rolling on the floor holding her sides. Sakura's mild laughter continued until she realized she was laughing alone. Ino had suddenly found something very interesting down at her feet. "Ummm what's up with you Ino? Isn't that hilarious? I mean you and Naruto? Could you believe that?"

"Iwokeupinarutosbedlastnight." Ino mumbled through her teeth staring down at the pot of tea in front of her.

"What? Ino, really, what's wrong today? You can tell me anything. Oh hey Chie." Sakura straightened up from leaning towards her friend as Chie approached the table with the kunoichi.

"Here you go Ino-chan. It's my own special blend. I've been working on it for a while now. Let me know how it is." Chie snuck the small warm pot in front of the obviously distressed kunoichi. "And if there's anything else I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask. You two are my friends."

"Thanks Chie-chan. It means a lot knowing I can count on you." Ino replied sincerely to the young tea server, pouring the tea into the small cups provided.

"Ok, well you girls know where to find me. Haha" Chie referenced to the tea shop she worked at. She quietly left the small table with the serious looking ninja, but looked back before stepping inside, to glance at the ninja females who were two of her closest friends, despite having entirely different lifestyles. Chie needed to sit down with them and find out what was bothering Ino so much.

…

Tsunade was about ten seconds away from bursting out of the Hokage tower and finding that orange clad troublemaker when she heard the faint sound of footsteps out her window. She turned and sure enough there he was climbing through the window just like both of his troublesome sensei. "Naruto, seriously when are you going to start using the doors? The Hokage can't just climb through windows everywhere!"

"Sorry Baa-chan. Old habits die hard I guess." Naruto sheepishly offered putting his hand behind his head in embarrassment.

"And why the hell are you so late! I had to actually do some of the paperwork this morning… I mean there were several documents that you haven't worked with yet and wanted you to have the experience!" Tsunade's hand reached absent mindedly for something to throw at the knucklehead.

"I'm so sorry Baa-chan, this morning has just been one thing after another. I got here as fast as I could I swear!" Naruto tensed, preparing to dodge the inevitable projectile from the Hokage's desk.

"Well whatever your reason, you're here now so it's time to get to work." Tsunade turned towards her desk momentarily, returning to face Naruto with an obnoxious pile of paperwork. A snarky smirk lay on Tsunade's face as she handed the forms off to the resident Jinjuriki.

Naruto took the forms, crying anime tears, to his small side office. Well, it wasn't really an office, as before it had been a walk-in closet for the Hokage's personal use. Tsunade had been using it to store replacement desks for when she would inevitably smash her current one in a rage, or throw it through a wall or two and, once or twice, out the window completely to the street below. Needless to say, the buxom leader of the village went through a lot of desks. Now, however, the closet had been converted into Naruto's own little corner of hell. The small room now housed a single desk facing a boring wall, along the opposite wall ran a series of filing cabinets where Naruto would endlessly organize the paperwork Tsunade had him work on. This was where Naruto learned the hard truth about the Hokage profession, paperwork paperwork paperwork. That was the name of the game.

As Naruto mindlessly eyed, signed, and sorted, his mind was on another blonde outside the Hokage tower. He struggled to remember the night before, and was beginning to question his own heart. 'Did she really mean what she said? Was it all just a big mistake? Are these feelings real or is it all a lie?'

….

"I don't remember everything that happened last night. I just woke up in his bed this morning, and I don't know how I got there." Sakura clasped her hands over her mouth to keep from gasping at her friend's confession. Chie was taking a break from her tea serving duties and was mimicking Sakura, trying to keep from alerting the entire tea house to the drama unfolding at the table.

"Do you think you guys…." Sakura didn't need to finish her question about Naruto and Ino's activities the night prior.

"I have no clue. I didn't feel anything unusual this morning when I showered. This isn't at all how my first romantic experience was supposed to go." Ino was close to tears as she confessed to her closest friends. "I don't know what to do at all."

"Ok Ino. I want you to go home and rest today. Rest and try to remember last night. I'll be by later after my work at the hospital Can you do that for me Ino?" Sakura reassured her closest friend, reaching across the small table to grasp the blonde's shaking hands.

"That sounds like a good idea." Ino looked dejectedly at her tea. She stood slowly from the table, as Chie made to clear the tea set away. "Thanks, you guys. I'll be okay for now; I just need some rest in my own bed. I'll see you later.' Ino began her trek home turning away from her closest friends.

Sakura spared her oldest friend a pained glance, watching her walk away from the tea shop. She laid down some bills for the tea, gave Chie a quick smile and wave, and quickly moved towards the hospital jumping to the rooftops. Her heart has a dull ache for her two blonde comrades.

Chie quickly cleared the small table for the next customers, and rang up the purchases at the register. She made a lame excuse to her boss about an upset stomach, and made her way after the Yamanaka heiress. "Wait up Ino!" she shouted up the road towards the blonde.

Ino heard her civilian friend's voice cut through the rabble of the busy street, and stopped to wait for the tea waitress. She eyes the nearby stalls and shops as she stood off to the side of the main walkway. Next to her was a man with a cart covered with masks of nearly any animal she could think of, in crazy and beautiful colors. As she looked the cart up and down, one mask in particular grabbed her attention and brought fresh tears to her eyes. There starting into her steely blue eyes were the bluest sapphire eyes of a brilliantly golden mask of a fox. A very particular jinjuriki came to mind as she stared into the seemingly bottomless eyes of the mask. 'It's almost like staring into _his_ eyes.'

"There you are Ino." Chie released a relieved sigh at catching up to the blonde kunoichi, "what's that you've got there? It's pretty."

Ino didn't even realize she had picked up the golden mask. She wiped away the tear in her eye before it could fall, with a light blush, and put the mask back into place on the cart, "Oh it's nothing."

"Ok, well I told my boss I was suddenly feeling ill, so I go the rest of day off. We can hangout today, or at the very least I'm walking you home Ino." Chie placed a reassuring hand on Ino's arm, a gentle smile on her lips.

Ino put a hand atop Chie's and squeezed it lightly, "Thanks Chie. I'd like that." At that Chie and Ino walked off towards the Yamanaka neighborhood.

…..

A familiar scent wafted its way through the busy afternoon streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, letting Naruto know he was head in the right direction. 'If only I'd made it here last night, my life would be a whole lot simpler today,' the Hokage-in-training chuckled cryptically to himself, pushing aside the short red curtain at the entrance to the only restaurant to serve the delicacies of the very heavens themselves, at least in Naruto's own humble opinion.

"Naruto, my boy, I was beginning to wonder if you were coming today. Lunch crowd's almost completely cleared out for the day. Everyone was wondering where our hero mascot was." Teuchi's boisterous laughter filled the small ramen stand. Naruto's hand floated to the back of his head, an embarrassed blush on his face as he smiled at two of the first people to treat him like family.

Teuchi turned back around from greeting his number 1 customer, and focused his attention back to the noodles he had in the boiling water. Ayame smiled and waved from where she was taking another customers order, the only other customer in the cozy ramen shop besides Naruto. She pointed to his usual seat, right in the middle of the center counter, and finished writing down her latest order. Naruto was getting comfortable in his stool as Ayame stopped to give her father the order she'd just received.

"It's about time! I was starting to get worried my Naru-chan didn't like me anymore," Ayame pouted with big puppy-dog eyes, Naruto always wondered how she did it without any chakra.

"Oh stop it Ayame-chan, you know you'll always be my Big Sis!" Naruto always enjoyed Ayame's teasing, and she likewise with his own light-hearted ribbing.

"And don't you forget it little brother," Ayame reached across the counter and gave Naruto's hair a quick ruffle. "Do I even need to ask? Miso ramen, extra pork?"

"Oh, you know me so well Ayame-chan!" Naruto gave the ramen waitress his best good guy pose, courtesy of Guy-sensei and Lee. Ayame laughed heartily at her "little brother's" antics, and went to tell her father Naruto's order which he was probably already halfway done cooking already.

With Ayame turned to relay his order to Teuchi, Naruto's smile faltered slightly as his worries and doubts started to fester from being ignored by the blonde. As Naruto struggled silently with what to do with growing confusion and apprehension, he failed to notice Ayame's glance as she delivered her other customer's order. Ayame could feel her heart breaking for her surrogate little brother. She could see all his hurting reflected in his deep blue eyes that glistened with unshed tears.

Naruto was pulled out of his contemplation by familiar footfalls approaching him from the other side of the counter. He peered up at Ayame with his signature grin plastered on his face. "Thanks Big Sis! And keep 'em coming." Naruto laughed, breaking his chopsticks apart, "Itadakimasu!"

As Naruto enthusiastically devours his ramen, Ayame can't help but notice his gaze averting away from hers and especially avoiding eye contact. 'Something is really bothering him,' Ayame comments to herself and vows to get to the bottom of whatever is it that's going on.

A dozen bowls of ramen later and Naruto sits back comfortable and pats his "ramen baby." "I think that was the best ramen you've ever made old man."

"You say that every time you come here, you knucklehead!" Teuchi voiced back to the jinjuriki who looked about ready to pass out into a food coma.

"Well I keep saying it because it's always true! Every day I can't imagine ramen being anymore perfect, but every time I visit you seem to have done the impossible." Naruto gave his holy praise to the only true sustenance of the gods. "Anyways, keep up the good work old man; I'll see you guys later!" With his parting words Naruto brushed the curtain aside and began his trek back to his own personal 10X10 plot of hell.

Almost immediately after leaving his favorite ramen shop, Naruto felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning to face whoever had grabbed him, he was surprised to find Ayame standing behind him. "Oh hey Ayame, what's up? If it's about the Ryo I left behind, I've told you guys, I insist on paying for my meals, you've both fed me enough growing up." Ayame chuckled but slowly shook her head, "then what is it sis?"

"Can we go somewhere and chat for just a little bit before you go back to work?" Ayame grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him to a small park before he could answer.

"Ok, ok Ayame. What's this all about? I really do have to get back soon." Naruto questioned the brunette who was his first real friend, and the closest he would ever get to a sibling.

Ayame pushed Naruto down onto one the benches in the park she has led him to, her eyes suddenly sharp and boring into his heart and soul. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" Ayame questions the savior of the world, glaring daggers at the most powerful shinobi in history quite fearlessly.

"W-what do you mean Ayame-chan? I'm fine, everything's going great." Naruto backed up into the bench as far as he could, half wishing he had Obito's sharingan and could just faze through it and disappear. His voice was shaking and his eyes displayed crystal clear to the upset brunette that Naruto was anything but "fine."

"You know Naruto, you're a terrible liar. It's your eyes; you can't hide anything with them. So why don't you tell me what's up? You know you can talk to your big sis about anything." Ayame's voice softened considerably as she lowered herself next to the distressed blonde boy she looked to as a little brother, even before he was born. Ayame took his hands into her own, which were dwarfed by the blondes.

Naruto tried averting his gaze from the older woman's but she pulled his chin to face her. Ayame's' dark eyes looked deep into Naruto's sapphire ones. She could see the hurt deep inside him. Years threatened to fall from the jinjuriki's eyes as he tried to come up with the words to convey his confusion and pain.

"I think I messed up sis. I think I messed up big time." Naruto closed his eyes as Ayame pulled him into her embrace. Her sisterly affection seeped through her hug to the much larger blonde. A few tears escaped Naruto's eyes as he struggled with his emotions.

"What happened, Naruto-kun?" Ayame questioned as he straightened up, his composure regained somewhat.

"Well it all started last night on my way to get some ramen for dinner. I ran into Shikamaru, Ino-chan, and Choji, quite literally. Apparently Shikamaru is getting married to Gaara's sister Temari, and the three of them were going out to celebrate. I congratulated Shikamaru, and was going to continue on my way, but Ino-chan grabbed me and dragged me along with them." Ayame chuckled at Naruto's predicament with the female blonde which earned her a playful pout from the jinjuriki. "Well she was complaining about feeling like a third wheel with Shika and Choji having girlfriends or whatever, there wasn't anything I could do."

Ayame laughed even more at Naruto's dilemma, "The most powerful shinobi in history brought low by a pretty girl." Said shinobi's pout became more pronounced, anime tears falling down his face. Slowly Ayame's laughter subsided, "so what else happened last night?"

"Well, we went out for a night on the town, Pervy-Sage would be so proud of all the parties and clubs we went to. But eventually we all got hungry, but it was mostly Choji, so we stopped at his family's restaurant for some late night barbeque. It must have been like 3 in the morning at that point, but that's the last thing I remember before waking up this morning." Naruto looked down to his feet in shame, unable to meet his sister figure's gaze.

"Well, I never figured you to get blackout drunk Naruto, but that's nothing to be so upset about. You probably don't drink all that often, and you just went a little overboard in all the celebration." Ayame did her best to console the distraught ninja.

"That's not all Ayame-chan; something happened this morning and I don't know how else to say this. So I'm going to have to be blunt." Naruto nervously inhaled a breath, catching it in his throat momentarily before, "I wasn't alone when I woke up this morning."

Naruto spit the words out so fast Ayame almost missed them completely. Her eyes widened at Naruto's admission, realizing just what it was that was bothering him so much. "Do you kno…"

"Ino," Naruto answered before Ayame could finish her question, "Ino-chan was in my bed with me this morning." Naruto lowered his head again, mumbling something under his breath.

Ayame struggled to catch Naruto's last words, "I'm sorry Naruto, but I didn't catch what you said last," she hated having to ask Naruto to repeat words that were obviously very difficult for him to admit.

Almost too quietly again, Naruto whispered, "Neither Ino, or I, was wearing any clothes this morning. I don't remember anything that happened last night that could have led to something like that. I spent 3 years with Pervy-Sage, but I've never done anything like that with a girl, hell, I've never even kissed a girl before!"

"Naruto," Ayame called to him, getting those big blue eyes to look back at hers. She could see tears teetering ever so vicariously at the corner of his eyes, begging to fall. "Have you talked with Ino about all this?" Ayame needed to know where the two blondes stood in order to know how to approach this delicate, emotional mess he'd gotten himself into with the Yamanaka heiress.

Naruto shook his head, "Not really, we talked a little bit at breakfast, but she ran off late for something, I think she was meeting Sakura or something. Any I had to get to training with Tsunade-ba-chan. Ino-chan just wants to ignore it. And pretend like nothing ever happened, but I don't know if I can do that Ayame-chan. I'm so confused by these doubts and feelings. I don't know what to do." Tears fell from Naruto's eyes, his fists clenched in his lap. Slowly a pair of small hands came down and opened them, Naruto looked up at them, and then at the woman they belonged to.

Ayame sat there, tears flowing down her cheeks, holding the hands of her little brother. She pulled him into her hug, holding his head to her collarbone, giving Naruto her shoulder to cry on. He didn't resist, but wrapped his suddenly very heavy arms around his sister, letting his restraints go. "Oh Naruto," was all Ayame could get out as she too felt the weight of Naruto's sadness. To grow up without any family, and then be brushed aside so readily by the first person you share yourself with, even if it was an accident. It was a cruel fate she wouldn't wish upon anyone, least of all the young man in her arms. She knew this wouldn't be resolved very easily, buy Ayame would be damned if she was going to let anyone else break her little brother's heart again.

A figure stood silently nearby, hiding behind a tree, struggling to fight the tears that threatened to fall from her pale eyes. The Hyuuga heiress, Hinata, had been taking a peaceful stroll through the park. She often did so to help her think and clear the thoughts of her mind, and to calm her nerves when assisting her father with clan matters became tiresome. Hinata had many obstacles to overcome growing up, and there seemed to be more still every day, but, alas, her issues with the clan elders were not what up upsetting her so much at this moment.

Hinata had been walking through the park when she heard voices from ahead. Getting curious she activated her bloodline ability, the Byakugan, to see who it was. She only needed it for an instant to recognize the massive chakra signature ahead. Slipping into her past habit of spying on the village's resident jinjuriki she silently crept through the trees towards the conversation.

"That's not all Ayame-chan..." Hinata could make out Naruto's words to the ramen chef's daughter as she neared the pair, keeping herself hidden. Her heart ached for the blonde she for so long had held a romantic interest in. Their friendship had grown and changed over the last 3 years since the war, and Hinata had grown out of her childhood crush. She still held the hero of the Great War in extremely high regard, but it was no longer the puppy love of her youth. Naruto and she had grown close, bonding over Neji's death in the war; in fact he had become close to almost the entire clan, a fierce friend to both Hinata and Hanabi. It was this friendship that opened her eyes, and she wouldn't risk it; if anything Naruto was closer to her now than he ever could have been. Aside from the brunette currently sitting with him, Hinata had become his closest female friend. A sibling love between both the Hyuuga daughters and Naruto had grown, and she was perfectly happy with that.

As Hinata listened to the conversation between Naruto and Ayame, she knew she needed to speak with a certain mind-walker. She was going to explain to Ino just what kind of life Naruto had lived, and how much something, like what quite possibly may have occurred in Naruto's apartment last night, would mean to him, someone who's never had a family of his own. She peered around the cover of her tree once more to spy Naruto being cradled in the brunette's arms. A tear escapes her pupil-less eyes as she turns to continue on her way home. An inner vow to find Ino and 'knock some sense into that blonde haired noggin of hers' echoes through Hinata's thoughts.

…..

Ayame held onto her brother figure until his body was still, his sobs receding. Naruto sat up on his own, wiped the tears from his cheeks, and looked to his sister for answers and advice. Her black eyes met his deep blue ones and she caught the slightest hint of hope in them. Hope in her, that she would know what to do. "Ok Naruto, here's what I want you to do." Ayame had thought about his precarious position, both in regards to Ino herself, but to the village as a whole, considering he was slated to become the next Hokage. "You need to find Ino, and have this conversation with her. Tell her everything you told me, tell her your fears, and your doubts, all of it. Tell her about your feelings, and then let her tell you about how she's feeling, and her thoughts, get everything out on the table. If she truly wants to move past this and ignore it ever happened, then you need to respect her decision. Though personally I think it would be incredibly foolish of her to do so; you are probably the single greatest person I have ever met, and I'm so proud of the man you have become Naruto. I truly am."

Naruto could feel his face heating up, becoming slightly flushed at Ayame's praise filled words, "I don't know about all that Ayame-chan, but you are right. I need to tell her how I feel and be able to accept whatever she decides is best for her." Hope filled his heart as he jumped up. He pulled Ayame to her feet, and she squeaked as he pulled her into a quick hug. "Thanks Big Sis, talking with you always makes me feel better."

Ayame watched as Naruto bounded off, no doubt to find his blonde female comrade. A warm smile came to her face at being able to help her surrogate brother, 'You go get the girl Naruto-kun,' she thought to herself as he disappeared from sight.

….

So, hello everyone. It's been awhile hasn't it? Well I've got no excuses. Writing this story didn't interest me for a very long time, and life being life didn't make that better. But I'm back with a vengeance and hopefully a much better system of getting words onto the paper. And no I don't mean a monitor, I mean I literally write everything out on a bright yellow notepad before I get everything typed into my computer, it helps me think, and gives me an extra chance to do some editing. But regardless. I actually already have the next chapter finished and typed up. It's much shorter than this chapter, but we'll be going over Ino and Naruto's little chat. How will things play out between our favorite blondes? Who knows? Well besides me I suppose. If you guys want me to upload the next chapter right away, just leave me those reviews or PM's otherwise you can expect the next chapter sometime next week. I've got the chapter after that all outlined, so you can expect some updates to be coming a little quicker than over six months since my last post. But probably not every week. I do need to finish the Witcher 3.

Peace, The Don OUT!


	4. Chapter 4

So like I said the next chapter is here, and it is much shorter than the last. I wanted their talk to be by itself because this is a big turning point in the story, now whether that direction is towards happiness or grief, a mistake or fate, will be revealed below.

…...

It had been a quiet day at the Yamanaka clan head household, Inoichi was enjoying a wonderful day off duty. He had decided to take a trip down memory lane, and was taking a look through some the old scrapbooks his always artistic wife had put together through the years. He was currently flipping through her first years at the ninja academy, when a knock at the door awoke from his thoughts.

A fellow blonde with brilliant blue eyes met him at the door, "Oh hello Naruto. Is there something I can do for you?" Inoichi greeted the man at the door, the man that one day sooner, rather than later, would be his boss.

"I-It's nothing much Inoichi-san, but may I please come in?" Naruto's Hokage training kicking in, even though inside he was reeling at being greeted by the clan head. Naruto quickly tried to think of anything other than what he had come to discuss with Ino. Naruto could swear the man could read his thoughts, even without his jutsu. He failed miserably of course, as a very particular derriere came to his mind and a light blush spread across his face as he was lead inside.

"Please Naruto, sit, let me fetch us some tea," Inoichi sat the younger man down as he scurried off to the kitchen. Naruto's blushing face had not escaped the seasoned ninja's eyes, 'Let's get to the bottom of this, shall we,' he thought to himself.

Naruto sat frozen, plastered to the couch in fear, he had not missed the glint in the older gentleman's eye. That sparkle promised pain, and suffering to any guilty party involved with his little girl, and Naruto would be nowhere near innocent to those eyes. But Inoichi's divine retribution was not to be, as footsteps could be heard coming from the floor above, and they were moving for the staircase.

A pristine head of platinum blonde hair appeared moments later, just as Inoichi was returning for Naruto's torture, I mean questioning.. I mean tea… yeah tea. "Who's at the door daddy?" Ino asked as she finished descending the stairs, stopping just short on the last step at what she saw. Naruto was sitting on her couch, and her father was in the kitchen doorway holding a tea set for guests. Her eyes then spotted what was in front of her former classmate. 'Oh hell no, he is NOT showing Naruto my baby pictures!' A plan instantly formed, she only prayed Naruto would catch on to it, 'Please for the love of god follow my lead Naruto.'

"Oh hey Naruto-kun, are you here to discuss that "super secret" Hokage stuff?" Ino said from the bottom stair, 'Like a pro!'

Chie stood behind her and face planted at Ino's horrid atempt at an excuse to get Naruto away from her father, 'Oh my god Ino, that was the worst line ever, of all time.' Chie quickly recovered, "Well i guess that means I should get going. "Super secret Hokage stuff" and all that." She quickly excused herself before her resolve could crack from holding her laughter.

As Chie left the house Naruto was…. less than quick, to pick up Ino's hidden meaning, "Umm… yes? I think so? No wait, that was definitely what I came here for." He finished with pride as deducing Ino's clues. "Excuse me Inoichi-san, but I do have urgent matters to discuss with Ino-chan in private."

Naruto was quickly whisked away from the clan head by his only daughter, 'Damn that girl!' Inoichi watched them flee up the stairs. 'But they do look kind of cute together,' he had not missed the affectionate honorifics they had both used, especially Ino. She had only ever given that to the Uchiha brat she was obsessed with in her younger years, he wondered if she even knew she was doing it. Inoichi chuckled to himself and went back to his lovely walk through the past he'd been enjoying before the interruption.

As Naruto was drug into the young woman's bedroom he was completely shocked at just how… plain her room looked. One side of the room was taken up with her comfortable looking queen sized bed with a mild bedspread of pale lavender and cream colored triangles on it. The dark hardwood floors has a matching rug covering much of the other side of the had a ordinary looking bookcase with a small collection of books, and a few more scrolls. Her closet was partially open and Naruto could see that it was filled with more clothes than he'd ever seen in his entire life. Lastly his eyes fell to the dark wooden dresser next to her bed, or more precisely, on the top drawer with was slightly open, and hanging there for all to see was a black, lacey, almost see-through bra. A small trail of blood leaked from Naruto's nose as he desperately tried to stare at anything else in the room, but he was too slow as Ino spotted him blushing and followed his eyes to the offended garment hanging there.

"Ahhh, you pervert," Ino quickly made to remove the brazzier from view, "peeking at a lady's underwear."

"It's more like your bra was peeking at me," Naruto moved to plug his nose, 'but dammit if she wouldn't look damn sexy it that!'

"Ugh, you men are all the same. Anyways, just forget you ever saw that," Ino could feel Naruto imagining her in the bra, and she wasn't completely disgusted by the thought, 'NO! Stop it Ino. You do NOT like Naruto.'

"Ino we need to talk about what happened." Naruto quickly killed whatever pleasantness there was left in the air, substituting for a the giant elephant in the room. "Do you remember anything else from last night?" Try as he might, nothing else but an empty void greeted him when he would try to recall the previous evening.

Ino looked dejectedly at her lap as she sat down at the head of her bed. "No, I still don't remember anything else after barbeque at Choji's." Ino looked up as she felt the bed shift. Naruto has sat next to her, and was wrapping his hand around one of her own. Her petite hands were dwarfed by the blonde man's large, and surprisingly soft, hands. She was surprised at how warm and tender his touch was, but more so at how comfortable it felt having him doing such. This was Naruto, the man who had, very nearly, single handedly saved the entire world, the man who had once been the village's prank-king pariah, this was the man who had gone to the ends of the earth to redeem his best friend. It was terrifying was someone so powerful and intense could be so gentle and considerate, it scared her that this may not have been a mistake, as she thought, but perhaps fate was showing her their heart's true calling.

Ino looked into Naruto's eyes and saw the window to his soul wide open. All of his thoughts and emotions towards her were on display, plain as day. She could see that this wasn't a look that was shared with just anyone, if anyone else at all for that matter. but she recognized that look regardless, she had seen it often on her father's face when he was looking at her mother. It was a heartfelt look, filled with compassion and love for another, and it was being directed straight into her soul. She knew what was next, but she couldn't hear those words again, not from this man. She wasn't going to let her heart be broken again.

"Ino-chan, I think I'm i.."

Ino quickly stood up and turned away from Naruto, "Don't. Don't you dare say those words." She put her hands on the dresser to steady herself. She squeezed her eyes shut to force the tears she felt coming to recede. 'Be strong Ino,' she thought to herself, 'He doesn't really love you.'

"But Ino-chan, just let me explain," Naruto got up from the bed, reaching towards the distressed kunoichi. "Just talk to me, tell me what's wrong."

"Naruto, you don't even know if anything happened last night." Ino pulled away from the arms stretching to reach her. "Either way, there's no way you could be in love with me."

"Well, we'll never know unless we try, right? It may just be a fling, but what if it's not? What if we were meant to be out going crazy last night? What if we needed our eyes opened to what was in front of us the whole time? Is that something you're willing to miss out on?" Naruto's questions started chirping at the young woman's armor, slowly seeping into her heart, but it wasn't enough to break through.

"No, Naruto! That's not what happened. It was a drunk one night stand and nothing more. How could you even know what love is? You spent years chasing after Sakura like a lost puppy, and she only had eyes for your best friend! You never had a family, so how could you have any clue what love even feels like?" The words escaped Ino's lips before she could even register them in her brain. She immediately turned around, eyes wide with realization, her hands flew up to her mouth, lest more unfiltered words spewed out.

Ino stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's arm, "Naruto I didn't mean any of that. I'm so so sorry, I have no clue where that came from, I don't think that at all." She knew she'd fucked up big time, 'Me and my fucking mouth.'

Naruto closed his eyes and put his opposite hand over the top of Ino's. He gently removed her hand from his jacket sleeve and opened his eyes, causing Ino to gasp as tears started pooling up. Those blue orbs no longer shown with their normal sapphire blue brilliance. In their place were steely blue eyes that cut into her, those were the eyes of a man who had seen too much, and they shook Ino to her core and they stared into hers. "Well, even so Ino-san. You've made your thoughts perfectly clear. I'll not pester you any longer." His voice had lost all sense of warmth, and now grated on her ears causing her to wince. "Now, if you will excuse me, I really must be returning to my duties. Farewell."

Naruto turned and walked from Ino's room, leaving the young woman frozen in place. her mind desperately screaming at her to run after the man she had so thoughtlessly butchered with her words, but her body refused to listen and stood there quivering. She could hear him walking down the stairs, 'What are you doing you idiot?! Go apologize! NOW!'

"Thank you for your hospitality Yamanaka-san, but i have pressing matters to attend to and will have to be off." Naruto's voice woke Ino from her daze, her body finally responding to move after him. She bounded down the stairs two at time to catch up.

Ino was just rushing into the living room as Naruto was closing the front door behind him, "Naruto, wait!" He paused in the doorway, but only for a moment, before closing the door behind him without looking back. She made it halfway through the central room before her legs collapsed, and she broke down into tears. She wrapped her arms around her aching chest, and released the dam in her eyes, a few sobs escaping her throat.

Inoichi was quick to respond to his daughter's breakdown. He swallowed his only child up in a hug, rocking her slightly, as he let her cry her tears. He knew this had something to do with the person who had just left his home, but somehow he knew he shouldn't be mad at the young man. His heart was hurting for the both of those young ninja, but he couldn't explain it.

"I really messed up daddy. I messed everything up big time." Those were the only words Ino was able to get out between her cries of anguish. She would cry in her father's arms until she fell asleep. Inoichi then carried his daughter back to her bedroom and tucked her in, he could get his answers later.

…

So things didn't quite go in the positive direction did they? Naruto gets a little too attached too quickly, which scares Ino, who's had some not so pleasant run-ins with love before. And Ino says some very hurtful things to our favorite knuckleheaded ninja in return. Will they be able to redeem themselves, or will this cause an irreparable rift between the Konoha Rookie 12? 11? 10? I don't know. But we'll see what unfolds next time.

For now let me know what you guys think of my story so far. Is it fun to read? Does my writing style flow alright? Do the characters seem like accurate portrayals of what they would do in this situation? Especially Ino, and the girls. As a man at the ripe age of 24, women are still one of the great mysteries of life to me. Even my girlfriend of 4 years, as of this month, confuses the hell out of me sometimes. But anyways, yeah. Let me know with your reviews.

So it's plain to see now that Hinata is no longer interested in Naruto romantically, so who do you think will have caught this maiden's eye? I've got a couple ideas in the air but I may be persuaded one way or another by your suggestions. Not that it will have a big effect on the story, Ino and Naruto are the focus of this story, but it's nice to know who's shagging who, am I right?

Anyways, Peace, The Don OUT!


	5. Chapter 5

Well what do you know another chapter finally uploaded. Man I suck at this. I can't say that I'll have the next chapter up soon because I'm not done writing it yet. My muse has been especially difficult, and finding the time to write when I have her is even more so. I have the next couple chapters outlined, but that's about it. I'm thinking I may need to look back at a couple of things before i decide where to go with this story next. Any suggestions are helpful, even if I go somewhere completely different. I read each and every review, and appreciate them all more than I can say. I look forward to your feedback. Please enjoy.

**MISTAKE OR FATE? Chapter 5**

It was a lovely mid-afternoon in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Children's laughter could be heard, as they returned to their homes from school. Mothers and fathers walked often hand-in-hand with their children who eagerly discussed the day's events in class. It was this heartwarming scene that passed by Sakura as she walked towards her best friend's house in the Yamanaka district. It was a sight that gave the med-nin hope for the future. Her budding relationship with the last Uchiha was a long fall from the romance novels she'd imagined in her youth, but it was perfect none the less. Sakura knew that the self-named avenger had come to care a great deal for her, even if he wasn't very good at verbalizing his feelings.

Soon enough, Sakura knew, that Sasuke would tell her those three little words, and then it was only a matter of time before he would ask her to marry, they'd move in together at the Uchiha estate, and have three children, two boys and a youngest sister for them. She could see it all, the Uchiha district full of lively grandchildren, a fallen clan revived, and she would be there beside her true love, always.

Eventually all of it was lost as Skura very nearly ran into a civilian with brown hair and a very familiar green jacket. "You were day-dreaming about Sasuke again, weren't you?" Chie playfully chastised the pinkette whose cheeks quickly matched her hair with a light blush.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sakura replied a little too quickly, and moved with Chie towards their mutual blonde friend's neighborhood, "How's Ino holding up?"

"That's why I came to find you. Naruto stopped by, he's with her right now, talking about 'Super-secret Hokage stuff'," Chie's hands formed air quotes with a mockingly serious voice.

"Well we better get back there and make sure my teammate doesn't say something stupid." Sakura doubted he would say anything horrible, but knew that he had no idea how to talk about relationships, and worse still, sex. That was not a talk she'd ever wanted to give to her teammates, "But it's important medical training," Tsunade had said. It didn't' make giving Naruto and Sasuke 'The Talk' any less embarrassing. Sakura shook her head to rid herself of the terrible memory with a smile, and continued on her way towards what had transpired between the two blondes.

Sakura and Chie stood in the foyer of the Yamanaka head household, a shiver running down their spines simultaneously as they waited for Inoichi to return. Sakura knew that something terrible had happened between her two closest friends, even before they had entered the building. The air seemed ten degrees cooler than the comfortable fall air of the village, she could feel the goosebumps crawling over her skin. Her silent wish for Inoichi's return was quickly granted as the man walked carefully through the family room towards the two guests, as if he tread upon broken glass.

"Ino's awake now; you girls can come on in. She's still pretty shook up from earlier, but it'll be good for her to be with a friend." Inoichi led the two girls back up to this daughter's room, "Ino-chan, Honey, Sakura and Chie are here to see you," he spoke softly as he opened the door for Ino's closest friends.

The first thing Sakura noticed as she entered the overwhelmingly purple room was a small trash basket overflowing with spent tissues. Ino lay on her bed wrapped up in an overly large blanket, only her face was visible within its folds. Dark streaks ran down the blonde's face, another testament to her earlier crying. The two kunoichi had been friends for years, ever since their days at the academy, and Sakura knew the look Ino had in her eyes. Her face wasn't one of rejection and hurt, Sakura has seen that look before when Ino had spotted Sasuke and herself walking hand in hand. Ino had given up pursuing the last Uchiha, but it still hurt to see that she had assuredly lost to the pinkette. No, the look in the blonde heiress' eyes spoke of deep regret and heartbreak. Sakura knew she'd done something terrible, but what Ino could have done to give herself such grief, the med-nin hadn't the faintest idea.

The two visitors quickly strode over to the bed and took a seat on either side of their distressed friend. Inoichi knew that was his cue to leave the young women to their own devices, 'Maybe some nice lavender tea will help calm them down.' He quietly closed the door to his daughter's room and set off towards the kitchen.

Ino waited until she heard her father descend the stairs before she let out a long, heavy sigh. "Girls, I messed up bad." She could feel the tears returning to her steely blue and bloodshot eyes. "I'm sure you both will hate me too." The clan heiress hid herself in the endless blanket she had engulfed around her body.

"Oh, come now Ino. Sakura and I could never hate you. How could you think something so ridiculous?" Chie consoled her blonde friend, awkwardly placing a hand somewhere in the heaps of fabric. She glanced towards Sakura on the other side of the fluffy mountain, who shrugged and put a hand of her own on Ino's… knee?

"Why don't you start from the beginning? Tell us what happened Ino." Sakura struggles to pull at the billowy blanket, searching for the telltale golden locks.

Ino's head eventually resurfaced from the sea of poof nowhere near where she first allowed the mound to swallow her. "Well it started out exactly like I expected it to. He still didn't remember anything, and neither did I. Looking back I probably could have entered his memories and walked through what happened last night, but I don't think that's ever going to happen now. God, I'm such a stupid bitch!" She quickly descended into tears again despite Sakura and Chie's best efforts to console her.

"Come on Ino. I know Naruto can be kind of thick headed sometimes, but I'm sure he'll come back around in no time. You can't possibly have made him that upset with you that he'd never talk to you again. Let's go find that knucklehead, I bet he's even forgotten all about it already." Sakura tried to wrestle her oldest friend from her blankets and sorrow.  
Ino suddenly emerged with a new look on her face. Anger had joined the heartbreak and regret in her eyes as she glared at the pink haired medic nin. "I yelled at him Sakura. He was being so calm and sincere, and I shouted the most horrible vile things straight to his face."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad Ino.."

"Shut UP Sakura. You don't understand. I told him he didn't understand what love was. He was going to say he loved me, and I snapped. I told him he never had a family and he could never know that love truly was. I just wanted him to not say what he was saying; the worst thing imaginable was the first thing out of my mouth before I knew it. Do you get it now Sakura? He's never going to talk to me again, and I deserve it 100%."

Sakura was silent as she turned away from the blonde and stood up from the bed. Her reassuring smile replaced with a cold glare. She turned to face Ino, who was still wrapped up in her comforter, and promptly smacked her across the face. It took everything within the med-nin to not knock the blonde through several buildings with the strike. Ino sat there, her face quickly reddening at the contact, her mouth hung open unable to collect her thoughts.

"I can't believe you would say something like that, to anyone, let alone the man who single handedly saved the entire world. I would have never believed you'd be capable of something like this if you hadn't told me yourself," the furious kunoichi turned to her civilian friend, "Chie you can stay here, but I have a very close friend who needs me more," and without another word Sakura shunshin away from the Yamanaka household.

It was a few more seconds before Ino began to react. Her grief and regret returned and she just cried, mostly silently save for the small sobs that escaped her lips every few seconds. Chie, despite being equally disappointed in the blondes actions, reached over and pulled Ino into a hug. With her head resting in Chie's lap, Ino cried till she fell asleep again. Chie remained the entire night with her friend with a feeling that this was only the beginning of the drama between the two blondes.

Sakura appeared suddenly atop the Hokage monument. She knew this was Naruto's favorite spot to think, especially on his father's head. She hoped her hyperactive teammate was there, but alas, she stood alone overlooking the entire village. Sakura couldn't' help but admire how quickly the village had recovered after Pein's attack and the war directly afterward. Following the war all the major and several minor villages, supplied aid and building assistance towards the Leaf's recovery. There were even some new metal skyscrapers that nearly reached over the stone faces. But she wasn't here to admire the village's recovery; she needed to find her friend.

Sakura decided to stop by the jinjuriki's apartment, she doubted he would be there, but it was the closest spot she could think of to look for him. She arrived as silently as a ninja of her station should and rang the doorbell to his humble abode. No answer. A spare key was quickly fished from on her many pockets, a ninja could never have too many pockets after all and quietly stepped into the dark room. Her hand floated to the light switch and lit up the home of her blonde teammate. A quick walk through the apartment, calling the owner's name revealed the emptiness of it, which didn't surprise the med-nin any. Naruto wasn't one to sulk at home if something was bothering him.

A few second later, after returning his home to its previous state of emptiness, Sakura could be seen jumping from rooftop to rooftop looking through the crowded streets for the next-in-line Hokage. She'd looked around his most frequent hangouts; the Hokage tower, Ichiraku's, his personal training ground, his favorite bar, Ichiraku's, the Hyuuga manor (Sakura was careful to avoid Hinata), Ichiraku's, the new ninja academy where he'd visit Iruka-sensei, training ground 44 (otherwise known as the forest of death), and better check Ichiraku's again just be sure. Sakura was quickly running out of places she knew to look when she had a brilliant idea. 'Who are the people closest to him? Well Team 7 of course, Sakura. And where did we all officially become Genin together? Training ground 7! With the stumps! Bingo, Sakura!' And with that she sprinted off to the old stomping grounds of Team 7.

Now Sakura wasn't a sensory type ninja, even with working on her nature chakra control with Katsuya she wasn't that in touch with the chakra forces around her. And despite this inability, she could immediately feel the heavy chakra that hung in the air. 'Well I think I found Naruto,' and indeed she had. Sitting atop all three overly large stumps was a Naruto in the tailed beast sage mode.

She knew instantly that something was wrong. Half of Naruto's body was cloaked in his golden sage chakra. Sakura recognized the chakra from the end of the war with Madara, but the other half of his body brought back painful memories. His other half was covered in the dark red and black chakra she'd seen him use before he'd gained control of Kurama's chakra. Sakura could feel the tension in the air. All three Naruto's were the same, split down the middle as his negative emotions battled for control. Back and forth, the chakra halves fought. The dark, negative chakra seeping slowly across to take over his body, only to be stopped and pushed back by the glowing, peaceful aura.

Sakura stirred her chakra as she stepped into the clearing, preparing should the need to defend herself arise. Not two steps from the cover of the trees and the immense pressure suddenly vanished and Sakura nearly fell over from its release. The two shadow clones burst and the real Naruto slumped and fell from the center log. With a burst of speed Sakura was able to catch her teammate as he fell, nearly unconscious he looked up at the pinkette, "Sakura-chan" barely escaped his lips as he was overcome by the strain he'd put his body through just now.

The first thing Naruto saw when he awoke was a brilliant green light. It was so peaceful and calming, like the first rays of light cresting over the horizon, warm and inviting. There was a quick jostling, his entire upper body being pulled towards the heavens, and the green light was replaced with bright pink strands. "Sakura," was the immediate thought of the ninja hero, but the pink haired being refused to let go of his torso. "Seriously, you're crushing me Sakura-chan. You're gonna break me in half."

The pressure on the blonde's chest finally lessened, and he was allowed to sit up on his own. "Then I guess I'd have to put you back together again," came the voice of his healer teammate, "how are you feeling Naruto? It's not every day you run the risk of chakra exhaustion."

Naruto took a long draught from the glass Sakura handed him as he finished sitting all the way up. "I'm fine; I've always recovered quickly, especially my chakra."

"I figured you'd be fine after you rested for a couple hours. Even if I did have to carry you all the way home." Naruto quickly looked around surprised to find the two of them in his own living room. "But I don't mean physically, Naruto. I know what Ino said to you. It was a terrible thing she said, and you're hurting. Let me help you Naruto. Please let me be there, just like you were for me, and still are, even after all these years." Sakura grabbed onto her teammates hands, and he looked down at their interwoven fingers. His deep blue eyes looked into her emerald ones, and found them filled with love and concern.

Naruto gave the smaller hands wrapped in his own a gentle squeeze, "Really Sakura, I'm doing ok. I just needed some time alone." The young man rose from the couch they'd been sitting on and made towards the kitchen, "I'll make us some tea, Sakura-chan. I only have plain green tea, so I hope that's ok."

"That sounds great Naruto. Here let me help you," Sakura said as she followed the blonde into the kitchen.

While Naruto was retrieving the tea leaves, Sakura found the kettle, filled it with water, and put on the stove to heat up. "She's wrong, you know? Ino. I think you know more about loving others than anyone in this village or anywhere else. It's one of the reasons I think you will be the greatest Hokage." A crash came from behind the pinkette, nearly causing her to drop the hot kettle. She quickly set it aside to investigate, "Naruto, are you al…"

Naruto stood bracing himself with the countertop; his whole body was shaking, threatening to collapse on him. A small cup lay shattered in front of him; small droplets fell, cascading over the broken ceramic. His eyes were squeezed shut to try and stem the flow of tears, but he quickly opened them when small arms wrapped around his torso. Naruto turned inside of Sakura's embrace and wrapped the med-nin in a hug of his own. At nearly a foot taller that his old teammate, her head rested against his chest, and he lay his cheek atop the hair he'd so admired in his youth.

The two elite shinobi held that position for several minutes, neither of them wanting to relinquish the other. Eventually Sakura began to stir in Naruto's arms, which loosened his grasp. She looked up at the hero of the last world war, and placed a hand on his cheek and wiped away the last remaining tears that clung to his whiskered face. Naruto closed his eyes and relished the sensitive touch of the first crush.

Naruto's eyes snapped open when he felt a strange touch on his other cheek, and saw the pink haired kunoichi descending from her tip toes. Surprise hilled his eyes as he rubbed the spot where her lips had brushed, his cheeks quickly blushing.

"You tell anyone I did that and not even I'll be able to fix what I do to you." Sakura chirped with all the confidence of being able to follow through with her friendly threat, "Now, let's go sit back down."

The pair returned to the couch in the living room, sitting angled towards each other to better talk and listen. "Why don't you start from the very beginning for me? What happened when you guys woke up this morning?" Sakura took his hands into her own again with a reassuring look in her eyes.

"Well it started rather normally. I woke up and took a piss, but when I was getting back into bed, I noticed that it wasn't empty. Ino was there sleeping and we were both... well… you know..." A small giggle escaped Sakura, her eyebrows raised at Naruto's immaturity at being naked with a woman. "Anyways, she wakes up right after I get back in bed, and starts throwing a fit. Eventually she just jumps in the shower so I sent a shadow clone to sneak into her room and bring back some clothes for her. I got started on breakfast, but I didn't know what she likes so I kinda went a little overboard and made a bit of everything." Naruto sheepishly put a hand behind his head slightly embarrassed, but Sakura was gushing on the inside imagining a certain someone doing the same for her.

"I tried to talk to her after she got done in the shower, which took forever by the way, but she said she was late and ran off, right out the window even, like, who does that?" Sakura nearly face-palmed at that, 'You do you idiot!'

"I was having tea with her this morning. That's why she left. I saw her jumping out of your window myself, so I guess that finally answers that question."

"After she left I just went to the Kage Tower to get my work done. I was so behind I had to take my lunch really late. I talked with Ayame-chan a little bit about what happened and she said I should talk to Ino about everything that happened. And, well you saw how well that worked out." Naruto cast his gaze despondently towards his lap again.

"I said this once already, and I'll keep on saying it until you get it through your thick skull, because it's the truth. Everything Ino said was a lie. Anything I've learned about love, I've learned it from you. Ever since we were first assigned to Team 7, you've stood by me and supported me. Even though I really didn't deserve it, for how I treated you. You never gave up on me, and you never gave up on Sasuke-kun. You saved him; he was so lost in his own darkness, but you pushed through, past it all, and you brought him back; just like you promised all those years ago. You've taught not only me, but the entire world more about what it means to lone one another. Don't believe a word she said, Ino was just afraid and blurted out nonsense." Sakura lifted his face to look her in the eyes. She could see fat tears forming in his big blue orbs.

"You really mean that Sakura-chan?" His eyes lit up slightly, hoping the words his best friend had spoken were true. They opened wide in surprise when the pinkette pulled him into a warm hug.

"Of course I mean it, you knucklehead." Sakura held her blonde teammate until she felt tremors shaking his body. She pulled him a little closer realizing that he was crying into her shoulder. The pair sat there silently for several minutes.

Naruto eventually calmed his emotions and regained his composure, "Thanks Sakura-chan, it means a lot hearing you say that. I think I'll be ok for now. You should get home and get some rest." The blonde wiped away the last remaining tears as he got up from the couch.

"Are you sure Naruto? I can stay here as long as you need me." Sakura asked. She wanted to be there for her friend, she needed to; just like he had been there for her as long as they'd known each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thanks Sakura-chan. I really appreciate you coming to find me. It would have been bad if my negative emotions won out, but they didn't so it's whatever." Naruto chuckled slightly. He helped Sakura up from the couch and walked with her over to the door.

The two young, but veteran shinobi stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Thanks again Sakura-chan. Maybe tomorrow we can grab some lunch together, feel free to bring Sasuke along."

"I'd love that Naruto. And he'll be there even if I have to drag him there, which I likely will." They shared another hug, and Sakura began her trek home, feeling much more secure about her friend's emotional state.

Naruto breathed a heavy sigh as he closed the door, letting the mask fall from his face. He needed Sakura to be at ease, in order to accomplish what he wanted. He needed to get his head clear; he needed to get away from the village for a while. 'I wonder if Granny Tsunade has any diplomatic missions on the back burner.'

**MISTAKE OR FATE?**

So my chapters are getting all that much longer. Don't expect that to change. I stop a chapter when I have a good point to stop, not when I get to a certain number of words. I don't have action scenes or lemons to buff up my word count, and this story is just getting started. Things haven't begun to take off yet. We'll get there though. Slowly, yes, but I will be finishing this story, BELIEVE IT!


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